L49-1: The ideal servant

It is a good thing my aunt Harriet died years ago. If she were alive today she would not be able to air her views on her favourite topic of conversation: domestic servants. Aunt Harriet lived in that leisurely age when servants were employed to do housework. She had a huge, rambling country house called 'The Gables'. She was sentimentally attached to this house, for even though it was far too big for her needs, she persisted in living there long after her husband's death. Before she grew old, Aunt Harriet used to entertain lavishly. I often visited The Gables when I was a boy. No matter how many guests were present, the great house was always immaculate. The parquet floors shone like mirrors; highly polished silver was displayed in gleaming glass cabinets; even my uncle's huge collection of books was kept miraculously free from dust. Aunt Harriet presided over an invisible army of servants that continuously scrubbed, cleaned, and polished. She always referred to them as 'the shifting population', for they came and went with such frequency that I never even got a chance to learn their names.

air one's views on 对。。。发表意见

domestic /dəˈmestɪk/   n.  家佣;佣人         adj.  本国的;国内的;家用的;

leisurely  age  悠闲的年代

rambling  /ˈræmblɪŋ/ 杂乱无章的，漫无目的的;向四处延伸的;

sentimentally  /ˌsentɪˈmentl/  感情上的， 充满柔情的;多愁善感的

be attached to  喜爱、喜欢

persist /pərˈsɪst/  坚持、保持;维持

persist in doing sth.  坚持做某事

entertain /ˌentərˈteɪn/  (尤指在自己家中)招待，款待

lavish /ˈlævɪʃ/ 奢华;慷慨的;大量的;

immaculate  /ɪˈmækjələt/  纯洁的;特别整洁的，清洁的、无污点的

parquet /pɑːrˈkeɪ/ 镶木地板，拼花地板;

polish /ˈpɑːlɪʃ/  抛光;擦亮;上光

gleam /ɡliːm/  发亮、闪光;闪烁;显得光洁明亮;

cabinet /ˈkæbɪnət/ 储藏柜;陈列柜

miraculous /mɪˈrækjələs/ 神奇的;奇迹般的;不可思议的

free from dust  一尘不染

preside /prɪˈzaɪd/  指挥、担任、主持      preside over  统辖

scrub /skrʌb/ 刷洗;擦洗

refer to  them as  把他们称作

shift  /ʃɪft/  转移;挪动;赶快;快速移动;

frequency /ˈfriːkwənsi/  频繁;发生率

长假结束了，无论如何，这个假期每天一读还是坚持下来了。